Just spent our Disney spending money on house stuff :(

[happybratpack]

I am completely bummed. This last week it's been one thing after another with the house and the dogs, I've had to spend almost everything we had saved for spending money at Disney. I have just a little over a month to go and no idea how to recoup any of it, this was Ebay & garage sale money.

What's the smallest amount you've taken for extra money? We love shopping which is why this stinks so bad, I'm going to have to figure out how to get over it so it's not a black cloud on the trip.

 

[Ozymoe]

Who is going and what are the kids' ages? Will you have a car? I know a few very special places that offer some great souveniers at very minimal prices...depending on what the ages of the kids are...and what type of things for which they enjoy shopping.

 

[EthansMom]

Well, for souvenirs we usually get 1 t-shirt/sweatshirt per person and each of the kids gets to pick out one toy (usually a med. sized stuffed character doll). In the past, we've also gotten one of the light spinners for DS3. But this year, I've purchased some glow-in-the-dark necklaces to take with us instead of buying yet another light spinner -- check your dollar store for glow in the dark items. I've also purchased some Disney stickers to take as rewards when the kids are being good.

My biggest non-spending trip is to stay out of the stores at the parks. Instead, concentrate on doing things that are already paid for like attractions and shows.

Make a grocery run or take snacks from home. I read a hint from another poster who made up a big bag of snacks and let the kids pick each morning which snacks to take to the parks that day (some healthy and some not so healthy). That works well for us -- I pack bottled water for everyone, juice boxes for the kids, granola bars, trail mix, animal crackers, and tootsie pops. If we see a snack that we really want, we get one or two and share.

Since we don't go in the stores at the parks, we make a trip to the World of Disney Store toward the end of our trip to pick out a t-shirt for each of us and let the kids pick out one toy. We don't go hog-wild -- on our last visit, there was a cute sweatshirt that I liked that was $70 and I said, "Well, I won't spend $70 for a sweatshirt at home and I'm not spending $70 for a sweatshirt here." I think I found a t-shirt that was just as nice for $15.

We also don't generally buy anything for anyone else -- not postcards or t-shirts or anything.

There is also supposed to be a store at DTD where everything is less than $10. That might be a good place to look for a deal.

So, for souvenirs, we'll probably spend $150-$200 for the four of us. Maybe another $50-$100 for snacks. So, $300 tops for spending money. (Though I have read a post recently from someone who plans to spend NO MONEY on souvenirs. Don't know that I could do that!)

I hope this helps!

 

[klj27]

I am completely bummed. This last week it's been one thing after another with the house.

My husband just asked me today if we can still go on vacation! We found out yesterday that we have a $4000-$5000 bathroom projected that needs to be completed asap. This was not in our plans for this spring, or ever for that matter!

As for spending money, souvenirs are so easy to cut back. We usually let the kids pick one thing towards the end of our trip. They usually end up spending less than $20 each and we don't have a lot of junk to drag back home.

Good luck,
Nicki

 

[HeatherC]

Pasta,Pasta, Pasta. That's one way to cut your food bill way back for the next month. Not fun, but it will be worth it in Disney. Also...pack lunches from home between now and then and don't eat out at all. That's what I do when a trip is coming soon and we are behind on spending money.

Good luck!
HeatherC

 

[happybratpack]

Thanks for the replies. It's just the two of us adults. (that are acting like spoiled brats) I know it's not a big deal, it's just different than our other trips where we had expendable spending money. I guess this sounds greedy.

If I had planned all along to go on a serious budget I would have been better prepared, but we had some $$$ things planned (meals, etc) that I need to change now and go more counter service, things like that. We'll just have to go w/o the shopping like we usually do.

Thanks again

 

[Local_Girl]

I understand about the "one thing after another" problem...we considered cancelling our trip recently because our trip money was going out for everything under the sun! Anyway, DH has been able to work a ton of overtime hours at work and it looks like we'll be okay, though $$ will definitely be tighter than we'd planned. But we'll be cooking several meals at the resort (staying at Cypress Pointe) to save on meals. We're also taking our "old" light spinners and popcorn containers from previous trips (we'll fill the latter with micro popcorn for an evening in the parks after dinner ). Fortunately, we're not huge souvenir shoppers. I was a little bummed because I wanted to do more PS meals in the parks, but we have 3 planned and that should be fine! Good luck...hope you can feel the magic and have a great trip even with limited funds!!

 

[OzFan]

Same thing happened to me last year, our dog ate a rock. Yup, 9 days before our trip our big dumb dog ate a rock that had to be surgically removed which cost $1000.
It was either the operation or he would die. Needless to say I have a $1000 rock spray painted and hanging on my wall! It is the most expensive art piece I own!
I told the vet to place a "DNR" (Do NOT REMOVE) on his chart after that!
We couldn't board him because of his incision so my poor MIL watched him for us! We ate alot of our meals in the room, (1bd OKW), and only did a couple of special meals out. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. My kids brought their own money, so any shopping came out of their own pockets!

 

[cascadecupcake]

Start right today! Don't eat out, take your lunch whenever possible, try not to go to any stores so you won't be tempted by anything. It's surprising what we all spend on impulse purchases. And eating out is HUGE. Those pancakes and smoky links for supper will taste a lot better if you eat them in front of your Disney Planning Video!

Good for you for not keeping the vaction money and throwing the unexpected bills on the credit card. You're a smartie--and you should be proud of yourself!!!!

The trip is still gonna be great!

 

[EthansMom]

Two adults? Here are a couple of quick and relatively painless ways to save a few bucks: order ice water with lemon instead of a soda (save over $2 per person per meal), share meals (DH and I used to share with each other. Now we share with the kids.), share one dessert or snack.

We generally avoid purchasing appetizers, sodas, and dessert with our sit-down meals (even when not on vacation). That's quite a bit of moola.

I hope this helps!

 

[westjones]

Forget the souvenirs. Just get a photo album to put your pictures in (we like the ones with the year on them so we can keep them straight). Pictures are the best souvenirs. Just go and enjoy the time together!
DJ

 

[frannn]

We needed a new car (we paid for fixing the same thing 4X in old car, still leaks), our real estate taxes went up, and we had a leak in our front room that buckled the wood flloor. DH questioned the need for a WDW vacation when all these bills are coming in, but we are hoping that between our tax refund and DH's new contract at work (provided it finally gets signed), and tightening corners at home, we will still be able to go. Oh, did I mention one DD (of the two that we are taking) will be turning 3 just before the trip, and the other will turn 12? That means we will have to now pay for tickets and meals for the 3 year old, and adult prices for meals for the 12 year old (we already had to buy an adult AP for her last year, so we're used to that). So, in addition to our bills being much higher, the trip will cost us about 1000. more than in the past. I have found that the best cost cutting strategies for us are using APs over 2 trips spaced 11 months apart, sharing some meals, eating a lot of counter service & some offsite meals with coupons, buying most souveniers at the outlets, bringing snacks & making a grocery stop, bringing Brita water bottles, and using the APs to get discounts on my resort room. I am a BIG souvenier shopper, and will be forced to bring it down a notch on this trip. I think my house (very cluttered) will thank me!

 

[vicceja]

Hi!

You are not alone . We also have spent our Disney Planning money on unexpected household expenses . First, my truck had some problems so I had to spend $1k on that. Second, my water heater blew up on me and my basement was under water, spent over $1k fixing that up. Now, my husbands car needs fixin' in the next couple of days that will probably be $800. All in all we have spent all the money we had saved for Disney. We thought about cancelling our trip but have decided that if we buckle down on all expenses and my husband has taken on a second job...we can make it - we will make it. Keep your head up - you will do it!

 

[becky7953]

Glad to know that there is others out there in the same boat as we are!!!!! We had both cars needing repairs, did that then something else went wrong with the one. Our money that would have been saved is gone also.

For souvenirs you can always pick out what you want and write down the description of the item then wait until you get home and call the WDW mail order # and get the souvenirs. WDW mail order # is 407-363-6200

 

[Snoopymom]

We're in the same boat with doctor bills and taxes, but fortunately we rented a home which makes it easy to cut expenses and at the very least, if we can't afford to go to the parks as much as we had planned, we can enjoy lots of family time playing in the pool, making pizza and watching movies. I think I might do another search through the house and attic for ebay stuff. Kind of glad to read we're not the only ones. Try to stay positive!

 

[Snoopymom]

Forget the souvenirs. Just get a photo album to put your pictures in (we like the ones with the year on them so we can keep them straight). Pictures are the best souvenirs. Just go and enjoy the time together!
DJ

Love your EXCELLENT advice!!!! You can relive your trip through pictures so they really are the best souveniers!

 

[NeedaVacation03]

I am new to the boards and your advice is great. I was wondering if I was the only one who was having a hard time coming up with the money, but not willing to cancel the trip I have told all my girls that we will be spending a lot of time walking in the park this spring and summer, because all spending money is going towards our Disney trip. My husband is having a hard time understanding the need for Disney,but he is being a good sport about it.
Thanks again,
Crystal